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Support to Impeachment of President Rousseff Reaches 68%, Says Datafolha

The people's support to the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff (PT) has risen eight percent since February. Now, 68% of voters say they are in favor of her removal by the National Congress.

Another hike was registered, from 58% to 65%, in the total number of people who believe President Rousseff should resign.

The percentage of those who are against the impeachment was 33% in February and has fallen to 27% now. A Datafolha survey shows that between March 17 and 18, 2016, the percentage of those who disapprove of the Rousseff administration reached a new record: 69% say that her administration is bad or very bad.

The figures are comparable to the 71% disapproval rate President Rousseff received in August 2015 - the highest in the series recorded by Datafolha (which began in 1989). The survey has a two-percent margin of error.

Datafolha interviewed 2,794 voters in 171 cities in all the country.

The support to Rousseff's impeachment grew in all segments surveyed.

The biggest hikes were registered among those who are 45 and 59 years old (from 52% to 68%), and those who are over 60 (from 48% to 61%), as well as among the wealthiest voters (from 54% to 74%).

As a comparison, a Datafolha survey carried out on September 2 and 3, 1992, less than one month before the voting session of former president Fernando Collor's impeachment, 75% of Brazilians supported the measure while 18% said they were against it – 7% said they did not have an opinion on the issue.

PROTEST AND COMMISSION

The fall in President Rousseff's approval and the increase in the number of those who believe she should be removed by the National Congress or resign occurred soon after the biggest political demonstration in the country, which was attended by 500,000 people on Paulista avenue on Sunday, March 18.

On Thursday, March 17, the National Congress elected a special commission to analyze the president's impeachment process.

There are 65 congressmen comprising the commission, 33 of them are from opposing parties or declared dissidents, with pro-impeachment inclinations.

The block supporting President Rousseff has 22 congressmen. The other congressmen in the commission have not taken a position yet or are negotiating which side to favor.

The Datafolha survey shows that, between February and March 2016, there was also a hike among those who believe Rousseff will be removed, regardless of their opinion on her impeachment.

The previous survey showed that 60% of Brazilians did not believe she would be removed from office. Now, 47% think she will not be removed following an impeachment process.

Although President Rousseff's removal has the support of the majority of Brazilians, the perspective of a government led by Vice President Michel Temer (PMDB) does not receive much support: only 16% believe a government headed by Temer would be good or very good. Thirty-five percent say it would be bad or very bad.

Rousseff also leads a list that includes several presidents since the country's democratization process, according to voters' perception regarding corruption in the administrations.

Thirty-six percent of those interviewed said the Rousseff administration has had the most irregularities. She is followed by former presidents Lula da Silva and Fernando Collor, cited by 23% and 20%, respectively.

Corruption also appears in the survey for the second consecutive time as the country's main problem: 37% say that it is the number one problem – more than the 34% registered in February.

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